A conventional scanner is commonly used to capture data from indicia (e.g., a barcode). Examples of the scanner include a swipe scanner and a presentation scanner. The swipe scanner is used to scan an item for the barcode while the item is dynamically passed through a field-of-view of the scanner. For example, at a grocery store, the item is passed through the field in an attempt to scan the barcode. The presentation scanner is used to scan the item for the barcode while the item is presented (e.g., held momentarily) to the field. The conventional scanners are laser scanners. That is, they use a moving laser beam to scan the barcode.
One limitation associated with the laser scanner is that they cannot successfully scan the barcode when it is not significantly aligned with scan lines of the laser. This limitation is more pronounced when the barcode is highly truncated, such as when printed on a smaller item (e.g., a pack of gum, a pen, etc.). Conventionally, the limitation was minimized by incorporating another moving element in the scanner to shift the scan lines around. Another limitation of the laser scanner is the inability to scan a two-dimensional (“2D”) barcode, which are experiencing increased use. The 2D barcode may encode additional data (e.g., a product ID, an expiration date, etc.). The 2D barcode imprinted on a driver's license may be scanned for age verification. The laser scanner may only scan some types of 2D barcodes.
A different kind of scanner, an imaging scanner, uses an imaging technology (e.g., a small video/photo camera) to capture an image of the indicia (e.g., the barcode). The imaging scanner obtains an image of the item, and, utilizes a search pattern (e.g., a spiral) to attempt to locate the barcode within the image. The spiral search pattern begins from a center point on the image and expands in a spiral pattern until the barcode is identified. If no barcode is identified, the scanner obtains a further image and begins the spiral search pattern again starting at the center point of the further image. This process is iterated until the barcode is identified within one of the images. The imaging scanner does not have scan lines, and, as such, may be made into the presentation scanner. That is, the imaging scanner may locate the barcode in the field, wherever it may be. However, the imaging scanner is generally a poor choice for the swipe scanner, because a processing time for each image is too long. Due to the longer processing time, the imaging scanner may skip over intermediate images before obtaining the further image, and the barcode may have passed through the field-of-view without an image containing the barcode ever being analyzed.